BOSTON — After a strong start, the Robotics Summit & Expo continues at the Seaport World Trade Center here today. Attendees will have more opportunities to see expert keynotes, sessions, and panels, as well as participate in more workshops, career development, and networking.

The Robotics Summit & Expo is produced by WTWH Media LLC, the parent organization of The Robot Report and DeviceTalks, which is co-located with the summit. The summit and exposition are intended to help engineers learn about the design, development, manufacture, and delivery of commercial robots and intelligent systems. As of yesterday, more than 1,500 people had registered for the event.

Here’s a breakdown of what to expect on Thursday, June 6, 2019:

Keynotes continue look at cutting-edge technologies

Yesterday, world-class speakers from Verizon, NVIDIA, and Amazon Web Services looked at how 5G, artificial intelligence, and the cloud, respectively, will affect robotics. The head of the Directorate of Engineering at the National Science Foundation also examined the future of work. More technology and industry leaders will speak today.

What to Expect for 2020?

Time: 8:50 a.m.

Location: Amphitheater

Speaker: Henrik Christensen, Qualcomm Chancellor’s Chair of Robot Systems, UC San Diego, and Director, Contextual Robotics Institute University of California, San Diego

Over the past decade, we have witnessed tremendous progress on robotics: Collaborative robotics has come of age, vision is finally viable as a feedback modality, grippers have moved beyond parallel kinematics, and so on. We have also seen major advances in modern machine learning techniques, modern control theory, and human-robot interaction. But what does the future hold for the robotics sector, and where can opportunities be found?

To answer such questions, governments and business development groups often turn to technology roadmaps – formal documents generated every few years by a combination of experts from business, academia, and government. They systematically describe goals for research, technology, products, applications, and industries and outline the most efficient and economic path to those goals, including hurdles that must be overcome. Christensen will describe the development of the current U.S. National Robotics Roadmap and discuss both emerging robotics business cases and significant R&D challenges.

Why Precision Maps Are Actually a Really Good Idea

Time: 9:35 a.m.

Location: Amphitheater

Speaker: Kyle Vogt, co-founder, President, and Chief Technology Officer, Cruise

In this engaging session, Vogt will describe the benefits of using maps and other priors for autonomous navigation and control, and how they allow self-driving cars to achieve superhuman performance. He will examine both sides of the great HD Maps Debate and review how maps can improve self-driving car safety.

He will also discuss the perceived limitations of maps, and describe ways they can be overcome. In addition, Vogt will address the collection of maps at scale, handling map changes, and how self-driving cars can deal with the “first responder” problem.

IoT, Robotics, and Automation: Evolution and Opportunities

Time: 10:20 a.m.

Location: Amphitheater

Speaker: Lou Amadio, Principal Software Architect, and Cyra Richardson, General Manager AI and Robotics Incubation, Microsoft

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been transformational for many businesses. The insights gained through instrumentation and digitization are improving efficiency and increasing margins. The next step is to close the loop through robotics and autonomous systems.

In this presentation, Microsoft’s Amadio and Richardson will describe how a host of cloud and edge IoT solutions can be used collectively to bring your robotics and automation solutions to market.

How 5G Will Usher in a New Generation of Commercial Robots

Time: 4:00 p.m.

Location: Amphitheater

Speaker: Dev Singh, Director of Business Development, Qualcomm Technologies

5G is being described as a once-in-a-generation technological advent. The massive capacity, ultra-low latency, and high reliability of 5G communications will enable entire new ecosystems of connected technologies to flourish. In the field of robotics, this will mean everything from highly precise industrial robots that can be controlled wirelessly or even remotely, to coordinated fleets of small consumer robots in the household.

With the introduction of 5G into robotics technology, robots can become smarter, more capable, and more efficient than ever before. In the closing keynote, Singh will discuss just how 5G will enable this new generation of connected robots.

Conference sessions

The Robotics Summit agenda features four tracks covering tools and platforms, design and development, manufacturability and production, and research and markets.

Sessions on Day 2 address topics such as the ins and outs of product design, robotics as a service (RaaS) business models, and best practices for protecting intellectual property. Other sessions will cover what to do — and what to avoid — when designing AI-powered robots, safety lidar, and VSLAM.

Engineers can learn more about principles for robot design, service robots, and “The Path From Autonomous to Intelligent Robots.” Speakers and panelists will come from diverse organizations such as Fetch Robotics, Neurala, TUV Rheinland, SICK, Ava Robotics, and Essential Design.

Expo hall

The robotics show floor will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. It includes more than 70 exhibitors and top providers of robotics components and full systems, such as Energid, Harmonic Drive, Kollmorgen, maxon precision motors, Universal Robots, and Waypoint Robotics.

The International Robotics Pavilion features the Robot Enterprise Promotion Association (REPA) from Daegyeong, South Korea; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark; the Consulate General of Canada in Boston; and MassRobotics.

FoMRE workshop

The Future of Mechatronics & Robotics Engineering (FoMRE) Education working group is conducting a workshop from 9:00 a.m. to noon. The workshop is open to anyone interested in shaping the future of mechatronics and robotics education.

The FoMRE workshop is intended advance mechatronics and robotics engineering education at the bachelor’s degree and postgraduate levels. For the Boston event, the working group invites participation from educators, researchers, and industry representatives.

MassRobotics Robotics Engineering Career Fair

MassRobotics, an organization devoted to supporting and growing the Boston robotics hub, is hosting a career fair co-located with the Robotics Summit & Expo. The career fair provides opportunities for qualified job seekers and the producers of robots, AI, and unmanned systems to connect.

Registration for the 2019 Robotics Summit & Expo is still available on-site.